Patients with COPD who practice yoga can improve their lung function, according to a study by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders. The study, presented at CHEST 2013, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that lung function, shortness of breath, and inflammation all showed significant improvement after patients completed 12 weeks of training.

An estimated 24 million Americans may have COPD, which includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. Patients with COPD have trouble pushing used air out of their lungs, making it difficult to take in healthy new air. Although there is no cure for COPD, a patient's quality of life can be improved by controlling symptoms, such as shortness of breath. COPD, most commonly caused by cigarette smoking, affects both men and women, and often, symptoms are seen in people in their 40s.

"COPD is a systemic inflammatory disease that causes difficulty breathing," said study presenter Randeep Guleria, MD, professor and head, department of pulmonary medicine and sleep disorders. "We investigated to see whether simple, structured yoga training affects the level of inflammation, shortness of breath, and quality of life in patients with stable COPD."

The study included 29 stable patients with COPD who received yoga training in a format that included the use of physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), cleansing techniques (kriyas), meditation, and a relaxation technique (shavasan) for 1 hour, twice a week, for 4 weeks. Following the 4-week period, patients were trained for 1 hour every 2 weeks, with the remaining sessions completed at home. Patients were evaluated on assessment of lung function, breathing, quality of life, and inflammation status. A repeat assessment was done at the end of the 12-week training session. All parameters showed significant improvement at the end of the 12-week period.

"We found that yoga can be a simple, cost-effective method that can help improve quality of life in patients with COPD," stated Dr. Guleria.

CHEST 2013 is the 79th annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, held October 26-31 in Chicago, Illinois. The ACCP is the global leader in clinical chest medicine, representing 18,700 members who provide patient care in the areas of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine in the United States and throughout the world. The mission of the ACCP is to promote the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research. For information about the ACCP, visit the ACCP website at www.chestnet.org, or follow the ACCP on Facebook and Twitter and the meeting hashtag, #CHEST2013.